9 February 2006

Poland, Rotating CD President Ambassador Zdzislaw Rapacki
I thank Ambassador Meyer of Canada for his statement. Would any other delegation like to take the floor at this stage? That does not seem to be the case. I should like to answer briefly Ambassador Meyer’s questions.

First of all, I will refer to the decisions adopted by the Conference in document CD/1036, which says that weeks 5 to 21 need to be dedicated to statements on all items and supervision of work in the subsidiary bodies. We have no subsidiary bodies, but we need to stick to this requirement.

Speaking of the substance of the debates, we understand that all debates will be based on the proposals made by member States, including those contained in official CD documents, working papers and other recommendations proposed by States. Substance and the willingness of delegations to participate and contribute to debates will determine the length and diversity of the debates, as the final results will indicate priorities. We understand that we have now opened the way, and it is not only up to the incoming President but to all delegations as well to contribute to the substance and content of our deliberations.

During the course of this year’s session, the incoming Presidents will give you more details on their plans and expectations, and it will be at the beginning of preparations for structured debate dedicated to all issues. We cannot exclude either certain situations - if there is a consensus within the Conference, that we dedicate more time to some items of the agenda. We may come back to the discussions if we are close to conclusions.

The last observation is that if I tell you I am very sorry that our presidency ends in one week, you would not believe me, but we end the Polish presidency next week. So we do not have two weeks, but rather one week only.

Does any delegation wish to take the floor at this stage? I recognize the Ambassador of Japan.

France, Ambassador François Rivasseau

I wished to associate myself with the questions and viewpoints expressed by Canada and Japan.